Employment in construction has grown strongly, labour force participation in the region is higher than the rest of the country, and unemployment lower, the report’s authors say.

It is estimated that the total value of the rebuild will be $40 billion (in 2015 dollars). The rebuild is expected to continue for many years, with the reconstruction of commercial property yet to begin in earnest, anchor projects in the CBD still to be confirmed, and insurance claims yet to be settled.

The report says that it is important to learn from the successes and difficulties encountered in the Canterbury rebuild, in order to improve future resilience in New Zealand to such events. A number of legal issues surrounding insurance have been clarified as Canterbury recovered from the earthquakes, but the process of resolving disputes has been a factor in determining the pace of the rebuild.

As construction sector activity unwinds, other sectors will need to expand activity. In particular, activity in the tourism and education sectors remains substantially below pre-quake levels.

Related resources

Sign up for email alerts

The Reserve Bank’s email Service is a free service that allows you to get the latest information from the Reserve Bank. Subscribers will be emailed Monetary Policy Statement news releases, OCR announcements and other public statements as they are posted on the website.